Bootstrap program rewards hard work
A Texas program aimed at giving industrious families the ability to own their homes celebrated its 1,000th successfully completed house on Monday at the Inwood II subdivision, near Dr. Ruben Gallegos Elementary.
The Texas Bootstrap Loan Program groups families together, helping them help one another to build their own homes. The families do 65 percent of the construction work on the homes, with the assistance of construction experts and architects who provide the more complex know-how — like the architectural design.
The families work on the homes for about 35 hours a week, usually for about 10 months, until they are completed. No family can move into their home until all of the houses are complete, according to Nick Mitchell-Bennett, the executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville.
The program is a collaboration between the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several non-profit organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity.
At Monday’s ceremony, state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. said the program has become a model for the rest of the county.
"We want to help more Texas families become homeowners," Lucio said.
Alina Gonzalez, who helped build the homes that were toured during the celebration, said it was a "beautiful thing" to help build the home where she will soon live.
"You feel a special pride when you have a house that you built, with your own effort," Gonzalez said. She will move into the home with her husband and their 18-year-old daughter Ana Laura, who is a student at Homer Hanna High School.
"I will be glad to stop paying rent on an apartment, and start paying off the loan on my own home," Gonzalez said.
Two-thirds of the homes are built in economically distressed areas of the state. There are between 15 and 20 homes completed in Cameron County annually.
Mitchell-Bennett said it is gratifying to see the U-Hauls lined up on move-in day.
"After all the battles, this makes it all worth it," he said.
